Development and Evaluation of an AI-Powered Text-to-Speech Application to Support Literacy and Dyslexia Awareness

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-636-4_9How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Text-to-Speech (TTS) Technology; Dyslexia Support; Educational Technology; Speech Recognition

Abstract

Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent difficulties in reading, numeracy, and problem-solving skills. Although there is no specific medication to cure dyslexia, various intervention strategies have been developed to enhance affected individuals’ learning abilities and academic engagement. This study explores the integration of artificial intelligence technologies—specifically text-to-speech (TTS) and optical character recognition (OCR)—to support learners with dyslexia in overcoming reading challenges in the Malay language. The proposed project, entitled SpeakIt, functions by converting visual text captured through a mobile camera into pronounceable speech output. The application incorporates several user-friendly features, including adjustable volume control, pronunciation guidance, and interactive pause, stop, and replay options, enabling users to repeatedly listen to the spoken text through the “Start Speak” function. The system’s development process involved a comprehensive investigation of dyslexic learning characteristics, which were subsequently integrated with artificial intelligence algorithms such as natural language processing (NLP) and deep learning models. The design emphasizes an engaging, accessible, and child-friendly interface optimized for an Android-based platform. Empirical findings from trials conducted among dyslexic children demonstrated notable improvements in word recognition, pronunciation accuracy, and overall reading proficiency. These outcomes suggest that SpeakIt holds significant potential as an effective assistive learning tool and pedagogical intervention to support Malay language acquisition, foster early literacy skills, enhance learner confidence, and promote autonomous learning experiences.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Shima Sabri
AU  - Siti Robaya Jantan
AU  - Nor Hafiza Abd Samad
AU  - Hairul Haikal Haliza
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/28
TI  - Development and Evaluation of an AI-Powered Text-to-Speech Application to Support Literacy and Dyslexia Awareness
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Cross- Disciplinary Academic Research 2025 - Track 1 Advances in Computing, Electronics, Engineering, and Mathematics (ICAR-T1 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 91
EP  - 116
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-636-4_9
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-636-4_9
ID  - Sabri2026
ER  -